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THE FERN PARADISE. 
occupation in the country which is more enjoyable 
than hunting after ferns. We have singled out 
Devonshire, and given to that beautiful county the 
name of the “ Fern Paradise,” and well it deserves 
the name. Who that has experienced the pleasure 
can deny that to wander after ferns through its 
beautiful woods— to search the rocks, the ravines, 
and the streamlets which abound in its magnificent 
moorlands — to cross, minutely searching from 
moss-covered boulder to moss-covered boulder, 
the beds of its brawling rivers, listening to the soft 
thunder of their numerous waterfalls, or to the 
loud roar of rushing torrents where the mountain 
stream sweeps down into the valley — who can 
deny, we repeat, that the pleasure of a wild ramble 
like this is exquisitely sweet ? 
But although, as we have said, the enjoyment to 
be gathered from a ramble either through the 
green lanes of Devonshire, or the ferny lanes of 
other counties, is beyond the reach of thousands, 
yet there are few places where even the poorest 
cannot obtain ferns. Flowers that are cultivated — 
and our garden-flowers require cultivation for their 
